Who wants to go?

This is like the Fyre Festival in reverse. The litigation happens before the festival plays and the proprietors go to court first. Will Michael Lang go to jail? So far, Dentsu is not asking for its money back and tickets have not been sold so the public has not been defrauded, but the planning of both festivals seems to be the same. An idea. But execution is everything, ideas are a dime a dozen.

But at least people wanted to go to the Fyre Festival, go hang with their peers, the stars of today, THE INFLUENCERS! Twenty and thirtysomethings don’t want to hang with Fogerty or Plant, but people impacting the culture today. In a can-do society, where everybody is a star, Fyre festival attendees wanted to rub shoulders with internet stars, not musicians, with the hope that they got not only stories, but a blueprint to make it themselves.

It’s kinda like coming up with a new gas-guzzling sedan in not only the age of SUVs, but electric cars. Unless you go really retro, steampunk, Civil War re-enactment, there’s no buzz, it makes no sense. Hell, Lang would have been better off promoting the original acts, from Mountain to CSN to Arlo Guthrie to everyone else who is alive. And for those who are dead, there could be stand-ins, like Gary Clark, Jr. for Hendrix, after all, Clark plays ‘Third Stone From The Sun.” Oldsters would pay to see that, after all they’re selling out stadiums for the Eagles, and even Journey and Def Leppard do good business in the ballparks, there’s a business model there, but the young ‘uns don’t care.

These multi-act festivals are no guarantee. Arroyo Seco had Neil Young, the Pretenders and Jack White and it did not sell out. But this year’s Cure-ated festival? A slam dunk. Because Cure fans are DEVOTED! They need to see this band that hasn’t burned out the market, and they like the other similar acts too.

Goin’ up the country died with the seventies, Bonnaroo has been struggling, it’s all about city-oriented festivals. Sure, Coachella is the granddaddy in the desert, but there’s always an outlier and in this case a massive inventory of hotel rooms.

But Lollapalooza, ACL, Outside Lands…they’re all city-based festivals. Hell, if they had JazzFest in the hinterlands it wouldn’t sell out. People love New Orleans, for its color and its restaurants.

And we know oldsters don’t want to camp. So it’s a nonstarter for them, especially with no hotel rooms.

And the people who are willing to camp aren’t into this lineup.

It is not a field of dreams, if they build it people still won’t come, but can they build it?

Doubtful. The wheels of government turn slowly, and everybody’s seen the havoc festivals have wrought, have you heard of Woodstock ’99? Unless there’s serious cash for the locals, they don’t want the disruption.

So first you need permits. Then you need infrastructure. We saw how this worked with the Fyre festival, constantly changing venues and unable to deliver infrastructure,

People don’t want to sleep in tents anymore. The same way they don’t want hot dogs and french fries at the venue. The whole world has gone upscale. Actually, food is more of a star than music. There are multiple food networks and if you’re still watching MTV you’re blind.

Things change. And you’ve got to change with them.

Concert promotion is serious business. You’ve got to have deep pockets and experience, furthermore, one-offs make no financial sense. Ever notice that almost all the festivals are either owned by AEG or Live Nation? Ask yourself why the initial promoters sold out.

But they could move the show, to a stadium, kind of like Made In America in Philadelphia. The same festival didn’t work in Los Angeles, who wants to go downtown? That’s why we have venues to begin with!

As for financials…theoretically Michael Lang could find another investor, after all, Dentsu has already paid all the acts, you’d need just another $20 million or so to make it happen. But who is going to invest when both AEG and Live Nation said no and Dentsu pulled out? Festivals are not cutting edge, they’re settled business, people can see the numbers. This is not John Roberts in ’69, an ignorant deep pocket who didn’t get his money back until 1980. If you want to take a flier on a new idea, go to Silicon Valley, the VCs are loaded with cash, but they require a business plan and good numbers and not only do they take a lot of the stock, they put someone with experience in charge. It might be your idea, but chances are you don’t know how to build a company.

You might say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one

Dreams died in the twenty first century. Life became hard, people did what was expedient, because they didn’t want to be part of the underclass, they didn’t want to starve. Meanwhile, there’s more war today than there was back in ’71 when John Lennon wrote “Imagine.” And he got shot and died.

That’s the world we live in. One of violence and cold hard cash. If you expect peace and love to reign in a field at Watkins Glen you’re delusional.

So expect Woodstock 50 to be a blip in history.

Then again, the Stones didn’t get around to touring big until their 51st. But people didn’t refrain from buying tickets because it wasn’t an anniversary year, they wanted to see the Stones.

Do people want to see the Woodstock 50 lineup in the middle of nowhere?

Almost definitely not. The festival was ill-conceived to begin with.

We never got our flying cars and if we want to see nudity we just fire up our browser. Everything’s virtual these days. But, if people want to connect, they expect creature comforts, that was one of the selling points of Fyre.

If Lang was smart, he’d be filming the whole thing, like AEG with the Michael Jackson rehearsals. So when it’s all said and done he could sell the movie to Netflix, you know they’d buy it, and for a pretty penny. And then Michael Lang could go on a lecture tour, telling his story to those who want to know how you dupe a major advertising agency to drop that much money.

After all, the original Woodstock was saved by the movie.

You’ve got to think out of the box.

Unfortunately, Michael Lang has been thinking inside the box, but one without even four sides. The original Woodstock was an envelope-pushing revolution that captured a national zeitgeist the major media had missed. Woodstock 50 is just a me-too event. We’ve been there, we’ve done that, we want something new and different, that was the appeal of Fyre, an exclusive group hanging together and making connections.

Never forget it’s about the audience today, more than the acts. They want to text and shoot selfies and do drugs and post it all to Instagram to embellish their brands. Acts come and go, but individuals are here forever!

So you’ve got to think backward, like the VCs, what does the public want, what do people want to buy?

They don’t want Woodstock 50. At least not enough to ensure a success.

As the Who once sang, this song is over, no one wants to sing it in the wide open spaces, no one wants to sing it to the infinite sea. But the question is, are they searchin’ for a note, pure and easy, playing so free, like a breath rippling by?

Actually, they are, they call it Newport Folk, off the radar but legendary, and continuous.

There’s a way to make festivals work.

This isn’t it.

Winky Fairorth is President and CEO of Tait, formerly known as “Tait Towers.”

Huh?

When you go to see the Stones or U2 or or Metallica or Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga or Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road”…the stage is built by Tait.

Don’t ask him why he’s called Winky. Actually, after an hour in traffic I once got him to tell me the backstory, but that was years ago and I don’t remember! But he says he never reveals it.

And if you met Winky, you would not think he’s the guy.

The music business has changed. To suits. To image. But Winky looks and acts like you went to summer camp with him. Dressed casually and full of energy, Winky’s one of the guys I connect with most when we do connect.

Then again, you can get away with dressing down and having a personality in the touring business, which gets no respect, even though it’s the main driver of the music industry today. A&R guys come and go, but touring titans are forever.

So Tait was founded by Michael Tait, who worked for Yes and thought up the idea of the band playing in the round, on a rotating stage to boot. Bottom line, you can sell the entire arena, you don’t have to block out the seats behind the stage.

And Winky was going to college and got a summer job in the epicenter of touring infrastructure, Lititz, Pennsylvania, and it wasn’t long before Michael was gone and Winky was in charge.

You see Winky is smart. And what they don’t teach you in the Ivy League is how to be a self-starter, how to build something from nothing. Your grades and degree mean zip in the music business, it’s run by renegades, who probably couldn’t work a straight job anyway, even though they’re working 24/7.

Yup, the longer you listen to Winky, the more his intellect and business acumen shine through.

If you want to know what goes into the show you’re seeing…

Listen to this podcast.

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Once again the music business is the canary in the coal mine.

Used to be there was a clear line between amateurs and professionals, those who had a chance and those who did not. It cost too much to record, there were a limited number of slots, and the possibility of getting on the radio was nil without the big label boosting you.

But the internet put the power of production in the hands of the people, streaming eclipsed radio and anybody could upload their tunes to services, and the big labels only sign a sliver of acts, leaving the rest of the field open.

So amateurs believe they can become successes, and they muddy the water.

Kinda like social media influencers. They read that some influencers are making bank and they think that they can do. The end result is only a thin layer of influencers survive, and their odds of crossing over to the big time world of entertainment are extremely low. But they post on.

Lori Loughlin wanted her daughter Olivia Jade to get a good education. Olivia Jade thought school was useless, better to groom herself and tell her story on YouTube, as if that were forever. Hell, even sports stars don’t last forever. As for entertainment… Musicians can go on the road and play their hits, actors are lucky if they can get gigs in summer stock. The internet is littered with momentary stars, from Tila Tequila to PSY to that “Chocolate Rain” guy… That’s right, Olivia Jade is just young and stupid enough to believe she can replicate the Kardashian paradigm, as if the guys in your garage can become the Beatles.

But we’ve got no new Beatles.

The Beatles were from the underclass and all they could do was play, get laid and do dope. There was no master plan, other than avoiding the factory.

Today everybody’s read Don Passman’s book, everybody’s legally sophisticated, they believe they’re marketing geniuses, but the art takes a back seat. Come on, would “Old Town Road” have become a phenomenon without TikTok and the faux controversy re country radio? No way, the record is not spectacular, it’s no “I Want To Hold Your Hand” or “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” but that’s how far we’ve sunk, where marketing takes precedence over content. In other words, oftentimes there’s no there there.

So how many candidates are running for President now? Is it twenty four with Bullock and de Blasio? Do all these people really believe they have a chance?

They wouldn’t in the old days. Their “brands” wouldn’t have enough traction. You had to pay your dues, it took years to get national recognition. Furthermore, you had to be anointed by the Party. But just like the internet blew apart the music business, the internet has blown apart politics. In the old days, AOC would be a freshman representative with little traction. But now, say or do something outrageous, own your position, and there are a million media outlets ready to spread the word for clicks, and the public then spreads the good stories further.

This is a far cry from the old days of politicians, when you couldn’t get them to say a damn thing, when they were wishy-washy. This is Biden’s problem. Whether you’re left, right or center, we all want someone honest and credible, and if you’re not willing to own a position and argue for it, we’re not interested.

That’s what Donald Trump did best.

Then again, Donald Trump was a media magician, he was already known. Most of these people running for President?

And the mainstream media is completely flummoxed. They missed the Trump revolution so they want to keep the bases covered this time. They cover all these candidates like we care.

Meanwhile, Beto has already faded, Buttitieg was the beneficiary of a soundbite on Pence and he’s had no traction in weeks and forgetting left field candidates like Marianne Williamson, everybody else seems to have some political experience, but just because you can bring patrons to the local bar, that does not mean you deserve to be on the radio, or in the Spotify Top 50. But everybody believes they can do it. Just like all the wannabe wankers in music, like the ignorant would-be influencers in social media. And once again, the wannabes have not learned the lessons from those who’ve already made it. A business is only unsophisticated once, then it becomes professional and harder to disrupt. Go up against Live Nation? Invest double digit millions in a label without a catalog? Sure, David sometimes beats Goliath, but if you want to win, go where the infrastructure isn’t. Like Napster with the major labels. It’s really hard to reinvent the wheel.

So we’re confused. We know almost nothing about most of these candidates. They’re running hard, but we’re tuned out. Whittle it down, then we’ll pay attention. Just like in the music business. There’s so much music being made that it’s incomprehensible. Playlists didn’t solve the problem and the industry is focused on the Top Ten, or Twenty or Fifty, when the internet has blown apart that construct, now it’s about a number of verticals, niches, but oftentimes not that small. And then these verticals topple the titans. Always happens. If you think we’re gonna be in a vapid world dominated by drum machines forever, you’re going to be left behind.

It’s like everybody’s become Stuart Smalley, but the truth is it’s no joke. And if you disrespect anybody, give them short shrift, the blowback is insane. So outlets are confused as to what to say and do.

So if you’ve got all twenty four candidates analyzed, can go into depth on each one…

You probably know all the records in the Spotify Top 50, the winners on all the genre charts. But the truth is even the professionals no longer know.

Then again, we’ve got a black and white arbiter in the music business, ticket sales. That’s where the rubber meets the road, either you can sell tickets or you can’t, and if you can’t…

We’ll find out if anybody wants to vote for the faceless. It’ll be clear after a couple of primaries.

Now it’s more akin to a high school talent show.

Come on, do all these people deserve to be President?

They think so, but we do not.

Just like the people posting music and spamming the internet with hype. There’s very little there.

Hell, I thought the people in NYC didn’t even like Bill de Blasio that much.

Kinda like Kamala Harris in CA. Good, but not legendary, not experienced enough.

But the pundits say we need a woman and…

The pundits are making a living, they’re usually clueless. They told Bernie Sanders he had no chance and he’s a dynamo at fund-raising.

Then again, he’s been working it for decades, he had a trial run in 2016.

That’s how it used to work in music too. You played clubs, then theatres…you didn’t think you could sell out stadiums the first time around.

But today new acts go immediately into arenas, with only one hit.

But one hit does not a career make.

And just saying you’re good enough to become President does not make it so.

We’re lacking context.

As a result we’re lacking inspiration.

And therefore there’s no competition.

What inspires you to be your best if there’s no scene? You can be the greatest singer in your neighborhood, on your campus, but if there’s no hope of recognition, no ladder to climb, you’re not inspired to take the chance.

There’s a Top Ten, but it’s not like it was in the monoculture, when everybody knew it, whether it be the sixties or the heyday of MTV. The latter illustrated the power of television. Suddenly acts were bigger than ever, selling more records and more tickets, you could tour around the world, you were a superstar.

Today Viacom, parent of MTV, lowers its carriage rates, because the cable provider doesn’t think its channels are worth it. They stopped calling it “Music Television” and all I know is they feature girls who got pregnant at sixteen, and the shenanigans they endure. Everything’s lowbrow, shooting for the lowest common denominator, our lives are ruled by clickbait, and you feel scummy when you ultimately get to the destination and find it’s just a way to sell you advertising, and that the info isn’t even what was promised.

It didn’t use to be this way.

Taylor Swift has Michael Jackson syndrome, she’s so busy being the Queen of Pop, needing to be on top, number one, that she’s missing the plot. The focus is not on music, but money. No one can have a hit every time out, you’re putting too much pressure on yourself, you’ve got to take risks to succeed. Once again, it’s about inspiration, in a moment, that you scramble to get down as you’re channeling the gods. “Me” is number ten on Spotify, with half the daily listens of number one. As for the video, this is akin to Michael Jackson’s morphing video. You remember what you saw, I dare you to remember what the song was. Maybe “Black And White,” or was it “Black Or White,” we weren’t sure which one Michael Jackson was, he was a party of one, out of touch, instead of bringing us all together, he separated himself from us.

“Echo In The Canyon” is not the first focus on Laurel Canyon. We watched all the clips at the advent of YouTube. But then there became too many, it was all about context, that’s your goal today, to create context, or universality.

So when you see Brian Wilson talking…

He’s strangely coherent here, the genius everybody admires as opposed to the mentally ill man walking and talking like a zombie. He needed to use four studios to get “Good Vibrations” right. Today, everybody records at home, otherwise it’s too expensive, and as for sound, everybody’s listening through horrible speakers anyway.

But Brian inspired the Beatles. The Byrds’ “Bells of Rhymney” inspired George Harrison’s “If I Needed Someone,” and George even admitted it, he sent a copy to Roger McGuinn (wasn’t he still “Jim” McGuinn back then?)

As for McGuinn, he was the one to match folk with rock, when Dylan heard the Byrds’ version of “Mr. Tambourine Man” the light bulb went off, he wanted to rock too.

At least that’s what McGuinn says.

You see there was that cross-pollination, and that need to not only succeed, but exceed. You wanted to be better than what came before. You’re sitting at home complacent and then Brian Wilson puts out “Pet Sounds” and suddenly the Beatles had to make “Sgt. Pepper,” the gantlet had been thrown down, the challenge was there, do better than THIS!

And it was all about the music, after all, “Pet Sounds” was a stiff, followed up almost instantly by a greatest hits LP.

And Stephen Stills hears the Byrds and…

When Clapton and Stills trade leads, albeit in different cities, you’re jolted awake, that’s the power of excellence.

You immediately know it’s not the average punter. Your ears prick up.

But what you’re not prepared for is Stills’s wailing. Yup, he’s that good and he’s still got it. He was on side two of “Super Session,” and despite all the accolades for Mike Bloomfield on side one, I always preferred Stills’s work.

But he doesn’t get any respect.

As for Michelle Phillips…

I hung with her once, in the desert, when Wilson Phillips premiered.

Since then… Let’s just say she’s had work done. You can always tell by the shiny face. No one can age gracefully anymore. Every star seems to have had plastic surgery. Charlize Theron wasn’t born that good-looking, and now Alyssa Milano is unrecognizable.

But other than Joni Mitchell, who’s refused the knife, most of the denizens of the Laurel Canyon scene were not beautiful. Their music spoke for them. Otherwise, how would Eric Clapton get a chance with Mary Hughes?

And you can’t say all that today, the #MeToo police come after you. But the truth is beauty pays dividends. As do talent and money, sorry.

But you watch the clips and you’re astounded what a dish Michelle was back then. I mean I was around, but I didn’t realize it. And then she cheated on Papa John with Denny and he wrote “Go Where You Wanna Go” for her/about her and…

We lap up this rock history.

But there’s more. David Crosby admitting he was an asshole, Graham Nash believing music can still change the world…

And there are performances by today’s stars.

But what no one acknowledges is how hard it was to write the songs! To be inspired, to lay it down, to have a hit. That’s why we admire these legends, that’s why people sing these songs. But it’s nothing like the originals. They last forever, a huge contrast to today’s world of evanescence.

And the truth is rappers do inspire other rappers.

Then again, Graham Nash testifies as to the beauty of music, something that’s absent today.

Stills wanted to replace the usual suspect engineers. Today, everybody wants the usual suspects to deliver a hit. Taking responsibility, doing it your way?

History.

But if you’re not in hip-hop or pop, there’s none of the aforementioned context, none of that pushing forward, no rising above where all of us can see you.

We pay attention to all those running for President, but most of us cannot only not name the Top Ten, we’ve never even heard the songs, even the young ‘uns, even people in the business.

Now the star of the show is Tom Petty, who’s so alive when he’s so dead.

And speaking of alive, there’s this singer Jade Castrinos. Not that she has the best voice, or a unique voice, but she’s got the music in her, when she stands on stage you feel the joy.

Kind of like Stephen Stills mouthing the words of “Mr. Soul” behind Neil Young when Neil’s singing “Mr. Soul” on television.

Now that Laurel Canyon era is over. But everything comes back, but with a twist. So personal lyrics with melody in songs written by those with not only talent but years of paying dues, practicing, will return. Could be supported by electronic music. Could be totally acoustic folk. The wheel keeps spinning.

But right now we’re absent the sixties California optimism. They lifted up the country and all the loose nuts and bolts came to Los Angeles. Not those who went to college and did what mommy and daddy told them to, but those who thought for themselves, and they changed the world.

It’s inspiring.

And watching this flick it made me want to reach, to do better, to capture inspiration and hit it way out of the park.

Then again, I’m not sure what game I’m playing.

But you’ve still got to try.

But trying is easiest when others are pushing you forward, not to make money, to be commercial, but to make an artistic statement.

Those are the days that have to return.

We’ve got to get back to the canyon.